Half a century ago, four mop-top British musicians stumbled off an airplane onto American soil.  

As of Feb. 7, it has been 50 years since ‘Beatle Mania’ took over the U.S. with their arrival, preceded by hundreds of shrieking fans.

Two days after they came to the U.S., they famously appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was watched by 40 percent of the American population at the time or about 74 million people, according to the Ed Sullivan Show wesbsite.

The four quickly became a global phenomenon—they influenced clothing styles, haircuts and music for multiple generations.

Their long-winded success from one generation to the next has political and social influence as well.

AP Photo
This Feb. 7, 1964 file photo shows The Beatles arriving in New York at JFK airport. 

The University of Pennsylvania Press conducted a study to explain their impressive following called the “Psychological Characteristics of Beatle Mania” by Evan Davies.

“The kind of support found with the Beatles is also remarkable.  Their public is a diverse one, composed not only of teenagers, but also of people who are within the older age groups,” Davies writes.

A fan from the beginning, professor of biology at Keene State College, Julia Imbarrato, recalls seeing them in concert in 1964 at Shea Stadium, with about 20 or 30 thousand fans, she approximated.

“The minute The Beatles stepped onto their little platform, so many people were screaming you couldn’t hear them play—you couldn’t hear anything,” Imbarrato said, “It was ‘Beatle Mania’—they couldn’t contain themselves, they were elated. It was upbeat, happy music and people were really excited about it,”  Imbarrato said.

The professor said her favorite song by them is With a Little Help From My Friends, from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band album.

Fifty years later, people still understand The Beatles phenomena.

Kaitlin Richotte, a psychology major at KSC, could not name all four members off the top of her head, but said her favorite song is “All You Need is Love.”

She said she sees the influence from them in today’s rock music. She said, “They [The Beatles] and the Rolling Stones have had a huge influence.”

Lennon inspired posters still hang in residential hall rooms to the reappearance of their music in popular movies, The Beatles.

The iconic and peace-loving four have made their mark in the United States and continue to inspire not only today’s generation, as stated above, but could inspire many more to follow.

Hannah Sundell can be reached at hsundell@keene-equinox.com